HR 550: Still the Gold Standard

Will HR 550 solve many of the outstanding questions surrounding the use of e-voting equipment? Recently, a few strongly-worded questions have been raised regarding the effectiveness of the bill. Thankfully, the concerns are misplaced or simply wrong, as diligently explained by Pam Smith, Nationwide Coordinator for VerifiedVoting.org:

"Recently allegations of shortcomings in the "Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act" -- HR550, introduced by Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey -- have been circulated, moments before citizens concerned about verifiable elections nationwide converge on Washington DC to lobby for this particular bill.

"The concerns about the legislation are generally unfounded. HR550 remains the "gold standard" of voter-verified paper record (VVPR) legislation, the only one with bi-partisan support and the only one to require mandatory random manual audits that would check for accuracy in every state. The organizations that support it, which run the gamut from partisan at both extremes to non-partisan election reform organizations, do so because it is clear that this legislation would go the furthest to improve election integrity nationwide. Despite the fact that 27 states have passed requirements in one form or another for voter-verified paper records, and another handful have purchased 100% voter-verifiable equipment statewide even without passing a requirement, the sad fact remains that much of our country still lacks a voter-verified paper record and fully three-quarters of the states lack any requirement to audit their elections for accuracy!

"In short, HR550 is the best VVPR legislation and has earned the support of those who are concerned about election integrity nationwide.

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